An armed man killed a woman with a knife after bursting into a home for retired missionaries in southern France, said sources close to the investigation.

Armed police were hunting the man inside the home in Montferrier-sur-Lez near the city of Montpellier which is home to around 70 men and women who have served as missionaries in Africa. Authorities said it was a “criminal act”.

Sources close to probe said that the man who stabbed a women to death after bursting into a retirement home for missionaries in southern France was on the run.

Armed police completed a search of the home on Thursday in the village of Montferrier-sur-Lez near Montpellier and believe the man has fled, the source said.